If you asked a few random people who George Carlin was, depending on their age and familiarity, you’d get a range of answers from simply “a famous comedian” to perhaps a more detailed account of his iconoclastic comedic style wherein he spent decades of his career poking fun at sacred institutions from religions to capitalism and everything in between.

It’s very unlikely, however, that anyone would open with “the guy who narrated Thomas & Friends”—yet, in the early 1990s, that’s exactly who narrated the series. From 1991 to 1996, George Carlin was the voice of the narrator on Thomas & Friends, performing the original narration on seasons 3 and 4 as well as re-dubbing the narration on seasons 1 and 2 for consistency—the original narration that he re-dubbed was performed by none other than former Beatles member, Ringo Starr.

Image courtesy of Mattel.

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